Routeman&#39;s signal



May 14, 1963 w. K. RATTENBORG ROUTEMANS SIGNAL Filed Oct. 20, 1960 INV E NTOR William K. Raffen borg United States Patent 3,08%,607 ROUTEMANS STGNAL William K. Rattenhorg, Box 262, Oakland, Iowa Filed Get. 24), 1%9, Ser. No. 63,911 1 (Ilaim. (Qi- 22ti18) The present invention relates to a receptacle for receiving a message for a delivery routeman.

In the delivery of commodities such as milk, bread, and the like to homes, much time is wasted by the delivery man and considerable annoyance is caused by the resident of a house not being able to make known her wishes to the delivery man without the delivery man coming to the door and knocking upon it and so forth.

An object of the present invention is to provide a receptacle so arranged as to provide a code signal to the delivery man to let him know what articles are needed at his next call.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a receptacle for mounting on the outside of a house in a place of accessibility to the resident of the house, the receptacle being provided with many sides which may be colored in various colors to indicate to the delivery man the coded signal representing what is needed in the house.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be fully apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the annexed drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of the receptacle of the present invention, a portion of two of its walls being broken away to show the structure within,

FIGURE 2 is a view in elevation taken on 90 on FIG- URE 1, a portion of the wall being broken away,

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the receptacle shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 with the cover in raised condition,

FIGURE 4 is a view taken on line 4-4 of FIGURE 3, on an enlarged scale, and

PEGURE 4A is a view similar to FIGURE 4 showing how the receptacle is raised for swinging from position to another.

With continued reference to the drawing, the numeral 1t designates generally the receptacle of the present invention which consists in a three-sided container having side walls 12, 14-, and 16.

The receptacle has a bottom 18 from which the three walls rise and a triangular cover 241 extends over the upper ends of the side walls and is connected to the upper end of the side wall 14 by hinges 22 which are shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 3. The walls 12, 14 and 16 have skirt portions 12, 14 and 16 extending below the bottom 18.

Mounting means is provided arranged in supporting re- 3,089,607 Patented May 14, 1963 'ice lation with respect to the bottom 18 and this mounting means consists in a U-shaped bracket 24 having one leg 26 provided with holes 26 for screws 28 through which the leg 26 is secured to a wall surface 30, as in FIGURE 1. The other leg 32 extends slidably upwardly into the container through the bottom 18 and through a partition 34 spaced above the bottom 18 and in parallel relation with respect to the bottom 18. The partition 34 is supported by the side walls 12, 14 and 16. The free end of the leg 32 is bent over as at 36 so that the container may not be dislodged from the bracket 24. The container bottom 18 rests upon the bight 38 of the bracket 24 and a notch is provided at the junction of each of the adjacent side walls, such notch being shown clearly in FIGURE 4 and 4A and designated by the numeral 40.

In use, the sidewalls 1.2, 14 and 16, are painted different colors so as to identify themselves with a code previously agreed upon between the delivery man and the resident of the house. In other words if one wall were colored green it would mean no deliveries are requested, if it were colored yellow it could mean that instructions will be found inside the receptacle and so forth.

To change the code it is only necessary to lift the receptacle and shift it so that one or the other of the notches 4t) receives the bight 38 of the bracket 24.

What is claimed is:

A receptacle comprising a multisided container including a bottom, sidewalls rising from said bottom and each being provided with a skirt portion extending below said bottom, an openable and closable cover extending over the upper ends of said side walls, a partition within said container and supported by said side walls in spaced parallel relation with respect to said bottom, a vertically disposed U-shaped bracket having one leg adapted for securement to a wall surface, the other leg of said bracket extending slidably upwardly through an opening in said bottom and through said partition, the junctions of adjacent sidewall skirt portions being provided with a notch, said notch and said opening defining a line extending substantially normal to one of said side walls, said bottom normally resting upon the portion of the bight of said bracket adjacent said bracket other leg, said bight having a portion selectively receivably in each of said notches when said container is manually lifted and rotated to position one or another of said side walls in a desired direction.

Lewis Dec. 11, 1923 Kies May 6, 1958 

